v brakes or cantilever for tourer?

paulk2

I am considering changing the brakes on my Hewitt Cheviot from low profile cantilevers to either Textro 720 wide profile cantis if I can source them keeping my present levers or to Shimano Deore LX V brakes with the Tektro levers from SJSC.

Anybody any experience of the two set ups - I am slightly concerned the V brakes will snag with my carier I have about 110 space to play with

ben_davies66

I've just bought a new tourer and was advised that V's would be the best way to go. Tried out both options and did actually prefer the V's. In terms of fit, I've had no problems with them getting in the way of my racks etc..

onbike 1939

The Tektro 720;s are very good brakes and easily adequate for touring. I'd keep my levers and buy these personally.

El Gordo

I've got Deore LX V-brakes (and levers) on my tandem which I've toured fully laden, plus trailer and wife, in the alps so I can vouch for their stopping power. No clearnace problems with the rack either.

Chaz.Harding

Try hunting around, and you can pick up XTR vee brakes for around 35 quid. Well worth looking into if discs aren't an option. 8)

Steve Kish

I've had both cantis and vees and find that the vees pull up slightly better and are m-u-c-h easier to adjust correctly. 8)

nicklouse

V´s any day. even when they work badly they are better than cantis.

passout

I prefer the 'feel' of Cantis but Vs feel OK and do have much better stopping power. On balance Vs are probably best for you.

mateotu

If your Cheviot currently has bar end shifters, staying with cantis gives you the option to move to STI levers in future. Though it does sort-of work, STIs don't really pull enough brake cable for Vs so you get very snatchy performance and almost no rim clearance. In the long term, cantis also need less maintenance - no rubber boot and noodle to wear out.

A side note: cantis often perform better if you fit a cable stop that attaches to the fork crown, instead of one that fits into your headset spacer stack. (Why waste braking effort in compressing the headset?) Not including the cost of a new cable, this credit-crunch-tastic change would cost about a fiver

djb1971

I've not had problems with V brakes & racks but on certain bikes I've had mudguard clearance issues. The newer XT & LX seem fine though, some V's have a slightly shorter arm and rub on the guards if you're using wide tyres/guards.

The only benefit I've found is that V's have better wet stopping when fully laden. In the dry my Tektro 520 cantis stop equally well with koolstop pads in the wet you just have to add a few yards . The straddle stops any clearance issues no matter what size guards you use.